Cool Schools
A ranking of public high schools, from the heights of academic achievement to the basement. Is your child in the right place? (Schools are ranked by student performance on the 2005-2006 DSTPs.)
KEY
School
Address and phone number
District
Principal
DSTP scores: math/reading; SAT scores: math/verbal
Average class size; Student-teacher ratio
Graduation rate (percentage)
Post-secondary ed (percentage)
No. of academic prep courses offered
1) Charter School of Wilmington
100 N. DuPont Road, Wilmington, 651-2727
Red Clay Consolidated School District
Ronald Russo
DSTP: 570.11/609.02 SAT: 632/620
Size: 24 Ratio: 21:1
Grad: 98 Post-secondary: 98 AP: 18
Some critics say the school’s ability to choose its students is the reason behind its ranking near the top in every academic category, but Red Clay school board president Irwin Becnel says the school has followed the state laws and does not unfairly select the smartest students. “They are very meticulous to make sure the admissions process abides by state law…the criticism is unfair,” he says.
2) Cab Calloway School of the Arts
100 N. DuPont Road, Wilmington, 651-2700
Red Clay Consolidated School District
Julie Rumschlag
DSTP: 552.27/535.01 SAT: 502/546
Size: 28 Ratio: 18.7:1
Grad: 96.3 Post-secondary: 90 AP: 12
As the state’s only public high school specializing in the performing arts, Cab provides an opportunity for students that might not otherwise excel at a standard high school, says Red Clay school board president Irwin Becnel. “But if a kid is not interested in the field, the child won’t succeed,” he says. “It’s that simple.”
3) Sussex Technical High School
17099 County Seat Hwy., Georgetown, 856-0961
Sussex Technical School District
Curt Bunting
DSTP: 544.63/538.84 SAT: 466/481
Size: 14.2 Ratio: 13.4:1
Grad: 96.95 Post-secondary: 70 AP: 1
Sussex Tech has found unprecedented success with state assessments, not only by technical school standards, but by any standards. “With the curriculum standards the way they are, it’s very difficult to find the time to align the two curriculums,” says carpentry teacher Gary Stewart. “It’s a different caliber of kids we have now. They’re smart, articulate, diversified.”
4) Cape Henlopen High School
1250 Kings Hwy., Lewes, 645-7711
Cape Henlopen School District
John Yore
DSTP: 548.69/526.76* SAT: 482/486
Size: 14.3 Ratio: 14:1
Grad: 84.15 Post-secondary: 78 AP: 6
While most districts across the state are having problems passing just one referendum, Cape Henlopen School District was able to pass two in the past year, including one that will make it possible for the district to build an eco-friendly high school. The school board has also stepped up and now covers the cost of AP exams for its students, says president Gary Wray.
(*Error giving the test for CH’s reading section, so this score is from 2004-2005 school year.)
5) Milford Senior High School
1019 N. Walnut St., Milford, 422-1610
Milford School District
Phyllis Kohel
DSTP: 544.01/530.92 SAT: 472/465
Size: 27.54 Ratio: 13.6:1
Grad: 79.4 Post-secondary: 84 AP: 5
Packed classrooms are not something the district is satisfied with, says school board president Marvin Schelhouse, but there is only so much that can be done about the crowding. “We’re not happy about that, but were dealing with it,” he says, adding that the district’s ability to deal with the growth depends on a referendum that was scheduled for November.
6) Indian River High School
Rural Route 3, Box 112, Frankford, 732-1500
Indian River School District
Mark Steele
DSTP: 547.25/523.68 SAT: 512/509
Size: 20.73 Ratio: 16.9:1
Grad: 86.74 Post-secondary: 70 AP: 5
Last school year, Indian River graduated the first class from its expansive new 157-acre facility, though the high school was one of only two in the district not to receive a Superior DSTP rating in 2006. “But [Indian River] is working on it,” says school board president Charles Bireley. “We were there in 2005, and we’re working hard to pick up that little bit of slack.”
7) Caesar Rodney High School
239 Old North Road, Camden, 697-2161
Caesar Rodney School District
Kevin Fitzgerald
DSTP: 544.3/525.75 SAT: 492/497
Size: 25.58 Ratio: 18.5:1
Grad: 88.45 Post-secondary: 67 AP: 11
CR has shut down the option to choice into the school, but class sizes are still growing, which doesn’t sit well with school board vice president David Henderson. The only way to combat the increase in students would be to curb growth in the area, which Henderson says is neither desired nor possible. Instead, the board has focused on adding AP classes and improving DSTP scores. It is succeeding on both counts.
8) Brandywine High School
1400 Foulk Road, Wilmington, 479-1600
Brandywine School District
Richard Gregg
DSTP: 542.37/526.93 SAT: 537/521
Size: 15.67 Ratio: 14.7:1
Grad: 90.4 Post-secondary: 51 AP: 16
It’s fairly easy to succeed when the staff and the students are on the same page, says school board president Craig Gilbert. “They have a strong leadership and administration team, and the student body is very much aligned with the school’s focus.”
9) Delaware Military Academy
112 Middleboro Road, Wilmington, 998-0745
Red Clay Consolidated School District
Commandant Charles Baldwin
DSTP: 539.55/529.15 SAT: NA
Size: 21 Ratio: 18.9:1
Grad: 99.2 Post-secondary: 80 college, 20 military AP: 8
As with most military academies, this school’s strengths lie with its leader, says DMA PTA president Penny Tambourelli. “With the commandant, anything we have asked for, we have been accommodated. He truly loves these kids. There’s not an event that goes on at school that he does not attend.”
10) Alexis I. duPont High School
50 Hillside Road, Wilmington, 651-2626
Red Clay Consolidated School District
Sam Golder
DSTP: 541.22/527.12 SAT: 522/514
Size: 20.4 Ratio: 17.6:1
Grad: 81.82 Post-secondary: 85 AP: 16
As one of the larger schools in the state, A.I. has considered having one larger lecture class that fans out into smaller sections, similar to a larger college course, as an attempt to fight the growth in student population, says Red Clay school board president Irwin Becnel.
11) Delmar Senior High School
200 N. Eighth St., Delmar, 846-9544
Delmar School District
Cathy Townsend
DSTP: 539.45/525.72 SAT: 492/485
Size: 23.39 Ratio: 15.71:1
Grad: 84.73 Post-secondary: 86 AP: 4
Strong academics at this “Superior”-rated district are a driving force, especially to newcomers to the growing Sussex area, says superintendent David Ring. At the same time, he says, the district maintains close communications with builders and developers that will affect any forthcoming growth that might skew classroom size.
12) Concord High School
2501 Ebright Road, Wilmington, 475-3951
Brandywine School District
Mark Holodick
DSTP: 537.42/524.34 SAT: 513/497
Size: 25.3 Ratio: 15.6
Grad: 89.43 Post-secondary: 86 AP: 15
Many of the current teachers and administrators at the school were former Raiders themselves, which creates a familial environment, according to school board president Craig Gilbert. “There’s a real sense of school pride,” he says.
13) Paul M. Hodgson Vocational Technical High School
2575 Glasgow Ave., Newark, 834-0990
NCC VoTech School District
Gerald Allen
DSTP: 539.24/517.78 SAT: 448/439
Size: 23* Ratio: 12.91
Grad: 99.13 Post-secondary: 41 AP: 0
After a few years of declining participation with the school’s PTSA, parents and teachers have recently become more involved, president Barbara Doles says, which has resulted in a well-informed student body. “There is very good communication between administration and parents.” (*Class size doesn’t factor into career labs, which are typically smaller.)
14) Polytech High School
823 Walnut Shade Road, Woodside, 697-3255
Polytech School District
Bruce Curry
DSTP: 534.79/520.99 SAT: 455/454
Size: 14.07 Ratio: 12
Grad: 96.21 Post-secondary: NA AP: 3
Polytech continues to focus on improving the achievement gap, but school board president James Collins says the school has improved faster than expected, which has resulted in a “Superior” rating from the Delaware Department of Education. “It’s more than a school,” Curry says. “It’s a dream that has come true. It has grown tremendously from the concept of a trade school to a comprehensive high school. We have input not just from the parents and students, but also from the advisory committee.”
15) Mount Pleasant High School
5201 Washington St. Extension, Wilmington, 762-7125
Brandywine School District
Michael Pullig (acting)
DSTP: 534.87/517.04 SAT: 476/485
Size: 16.51 Ratio: 15.2
Grad: 82.29 Post-secondary: 70 AP: 13
Despite a string of bomb threats early in the school year, the school is a safe place to send your child, says school board president Craig Gilbert. It also hosts the only International Baccalaureate program at a public high school in the state.
16) Middletown High School
120 Silver Lake Road, Middletown, 376-4141
Appoquinimink School District
Donna Mitchell
DSTP: 533.5*/518.36 SAT: 494/487
Size: 29 Ratio: 18.1:1
Grad: 81 Post-secondary: 70.5 AP: 16
The district is building a new high school that should relieve the strain on Middletown, but the teachers are handling it as best they can, school board member Edna Cale says. To combat the large enrollment, the school has instituted a ninth grade academy that helps students transition from middle school to high school. “We don’t want the students to get lost in the system,” Cale says.
17) Sussex Central High School
26026 Patriots Way, Georgetown, 934-3166
Indian River School District
Dana Goodman
DSTP: 534.87/516.32 SAT: 478/487
Size: 29 Ratio: 16:1
Grad: 81.61 Post-secondary: NA AP: 5
New on the scene at Sussex Central is Dana Goodman, who has brought with him a solid work ethic to match the school’s impressive new building. “He’s doing very well,” says school board president Charles Bireley. “He’s brought in this ability to really work hard, and he has the best of the school in his heart.”
18) Laurel High School
1133 S. Central Ave., Laurel, 875-6120
Laurel School District
Dean Ivory
DSTP: 529.99/519.06 SAT: 443/450
Size: 18.72 Ratio: 15.8:1
Grad: 78 Post-secondary: NA AP: 4
The school has increased its focus on improving dropout rates and DSTP scores, while trying to create an educational package for each individual student, school board member Harvey Hyland says. Yet the district’s requirement to meet government standards, both state and federal, may actually make more students slip through the cracks, he says. “I don’t see where it addresses the students who have basic learning problems, and those are the kids who we lose.”
19) Smyrna High School
500 Duck Creek Pkwy., Smyrna, 653-8581
Smyrna School District
Anthony Soligo
DSTP: 531.85/515.24 SAT: 466/463
Size: 14.59 Ratio: 16.6:1
Grad: 83.8 Post-secondary: 49 AP: 4
Smyrna’s family environment has made it an excellent climate for special-needs students, but the school is striving as a whole to improve DSTP curriculum. “We want to be ‘Commendable’ again, if not ‘Superior,’” says school board vice president Lynne Newlin. The school is also working to address a booming Smyrna population. “We need classroom space,” she says. “That would enhance the quality of our education.”
20) Delcastle Technical High School
1417 Newport Road, Wilmington, 995-8100
NCC VoTech School District
Joseph Jones
DSTP: 531.68/512.25 SAT: 423/414
Size: 23 Ratio: 12.7:1
Grad: 97.4 Post-secondary: 45 AP: 0
“I think Delcastle has comprehensive programs in areas that reflect contemporary interests from an employment standpoint,” says school board member Arnetta McRae. Digital media and nursing programs are counted among them.
21) Campus Community School
350 Pear St., Dover, 736-0403
Campus Community Charter School
Patricia Hermance
DSTP: 523.28/518.95 SAT: 471/500
Size: 25 Ratio:14.7:1
Grad: 98 Post-secondary: 90 AP: 16*
This Dover-based charter school is proud of its low student-teacher ratio and individual attention, but wants to offer more to its students in the way of sports and activities, says school board president Gloria Homer. It employs an innovative teaching method called the constructivist method, which integrates all subject areas (such as math and its relevance to science, or how the language arts affect history), which provides a more holistic view of society.
(*Students have taken 16 different college courses through Wesley College, but they can choose any offered through the school instead of AP classes.)
22) Lake Forest High School
5407 Killens Pond Road, Felton, 284-9291
Lake Forest School District
Betty Wyatt-Dix
DSTP: 529.66/510.48 SAT: 475/471
Size: 17.47 Ratio: 15.2:1
Grad: 80.7 Post-secondary: 45 AP: 4
Like many schools in the state, Lake Forest has struggled with the achievement gap between white and minority students. But strides have been made, says assistant superintendent John Filicicchia, with the “twilight school” program. It’s an after-hours, computer based curriculum for struggling or working students “that allows them to get credits and graduate with everybody else,” he says.
23) Thomas McKean High School
301 McKennan’s Church Road, Wilmington, 992-5520
Red Clay Consolidated School District
Sherry Gross
DSTP: 528.38/511.74 SAT: 478/487
Size: 25.85 Ratio: 16.7:1
Grad: 69.47 Post-secondary: 75
